Recently, ESPN went through and used their “NBA Draft Projection Model” to create a separate “big board” from the one that Chad Ford already does. The players that ranked higher on the projection model than Chad Ford’s big board are considered “steals of the draft.”
Malik Monk was ranked as the number 2 steal of the draft. Ford’s big board has him ranked as the #7 prospect, while the projection model ranked him as the #3 prospect. ESPN had this to say about Monk:
“Our data has shown guards to be more difficult to project than big men at the next level, as some guards are able to transfer their shooting to the NBA while others possess shooting flaws that aren’t exposed until they play against bigger and faster defenses in the NBA.